By Colins Nakedi | Project Leader
March 4, 2019.
The Difference made
Project Description
Hifadhi Africa Organization’s livelihood program aims to mitigate against food insecurity, high rate of illnesses, poor nutrition and natural disasters in order to assist the target population to return back to normalcy. The objective of, "Adopt-An-Animal and Transform Lives in Africa" (36114) specifically was to improve family welfare in the pastoral Pokot region by donating goats, sheep, chicken, camels, donkey and cows to assist households with most vulnerable persons to empower them rebuild their lives and advance their potentials. Our organization came up with the idea of animals distribution as a sustainable initiative to fight poverty and save lives. The concept stems from the #TransformingLives slogan that the beneficiaries of the project will have an opportunity to take care of the animals to a point where they multiply and boost their livelihood.
With your donation via GlobalGiving online fundraising platform, Hifadhi Africa secured a total of $5633. $4,618.86 was disbursed to Hifadhi Africa via FXecute which translated to Ksh.451, 165 to buy and distribute animals to the needy villages in East Pokot Sub-County. The animals and chicken were purchased in each of the 8 beneficiary villages. The reason for this was to enable those who are selling benefit from the money they get when we buy their animals and those who receive the animals as donation also equally benefit. The decision to buy locally from each village also meant that the particular villages benefit from money circulation and therefore improvement in economic activities. Normally, all Pokots would trek over 100 kilometers to Nginayng market to sell their livestock. We wanted to empower locals in each village with the money we had by encouraging them to sell us their livestock and chicken at improved prices. The decision also mitigated need for transporting the livestock and with it the logistical costs. This concept of buying goats from the villagers and distributing them within the same villages creates money circulation and enhances the economy of the community.
The project benefited 232 households directly and 1624 individuals who depend on those household heads supported. The targeted populations included;
Traditionally under-represented groups such as youth and women
Households that support their children's education and those of others,
Households that do not practice, support or in any way frustrate efforts towards elimination of female genital mutilation and
Households headed by those who are vulnerable, ill, orphaned, aged or live with disabilities.
Distribution Matrix
The total numbers of livestock distributed were 80 goats, 100 chicken, 2 cows, 2 donkeys and 2 camels. These livestock were distributed to 8 villages including Adomeyon, Akwichatis, Nalekat, Napeikore, Nakoko, Cheptunoyo, Silale and Natan. Distribution was done as follows;
Adomeyon Village – 10 goats and 10 chickens
Akwichatis Village – 12 goats and 10 chickens
Nalekat Village – 5 goats and 10 chickens
Napeikore Village – 12 goats and 19 chickens
Natan Village – 11 goats and 15 chickens
Silale Village – 10 goats and 10 chickens
Nakoko Village – 10 goats and 16 chickens
Cheptunoyo Village – 10 goats and 10 chickens
Itemized Buget
Local committees averaging 7 memberships with Chairperson, Secretary and a Coordinator were established in each of the above villages prior to distribution. These committees in conjunction with local populous teamed up to develop beneficiaries’ lists. Some went from household-to-household while others called for community participatory forums where all villagers attended and selection criteria were discussed. Opinions raised by locals during the period included gender and geographical balance on selection. Strong objection was voiced also against those who support harmful traditions that are seen to suppress human rights and participation of women and youth in community development. Communal rules were also put in place to discourage beneficiaries from selling the donated animals prematurely. Beneficiaries were made to sign against their names as they receive the animals and chickens. Each village committees were tasked to ensure continued M&E and impact assessment.
Community Participation
Hifadhi Africa had community participatory forums in each of the villages as well as working closely with opinion and religious leaders to explain objectives of the project and donors. There were strong calls for adoption and donation of more donkeys and camels because of their economic and transportation value. Camels and donkeys attract more money and are also used to carry water over long distances.
Observable challenges in East Pokot
Dare need for water – Residents of East Pokot travel 8 kilometers on average one way to fetch water. There are two inoperable boreholes at Nakoko and Napeikore that broke down May 2018 that need urgent repair to salvage their humanitarian crisis. We estimated the two boreholes repair to needing $10,000. There is also need to construct a pan for livestock at Akwichatis. Cost of construction is yet to be determined.
Health Crisis - From our observation and conversation with the villages, we discovered that East Pokot dispensaries last received 2 boxes of medicine in August, 2017. As such, no dispensary or health facility in the area has medicines and food for patients. Therefore, the community needs assistance in this regard to avoid more deaths. There are high snake bites cases reported.
Poverty and Starvation - Many people in East Pokot are losing their lives due to starvation. For instance, Kama Lobong’e, a beneficiary of maize distribution that was done in 2018 died of starvation. In July 2017 Hifadhi Africa offered her Plumpy nuts to ease malnutrition.
Appeal to Join the New Project
Hifadhi Africa launched a $108,550 project titled, “Educating Impoverished Children in Kenya” (#37957) on GlobalGiving. The project is expected to support education of students living with impoverished parents. There is high need for scholarship funds in East Pokot. Rotarian Robert Cairns, a member of Port Orchard Rotary Club and major donor and supporter of Hifadhi Africa scholarship program wrote the following in regards to East Pokot and need for scholarships;
There is always a need for scholarship funds in Kenya where the Port Orchard Rotary Club has been doing their humanitarian work. In East Pokot, Kenya, the literacy rate is just 4%. The Pokot people are pastoralists and with their nomadic lifestyle it is very difficult for a child to get an education. The only way children do get educated is by living at a boarding school for 9 months out of the year. In East Pokot, 87% of the children do not go on to high school because of a lack of funds for boarding, for books and fees and for uniforms. In 2014, the Port Orchard Rotary Club funded $2500 for high school scholarships. This was enough for 4 scholarships to be funded at Barpello High School for one year. Through funds provided by the University of Washington Rotaract Club and from individuals over the years, funds were provided to see all 4 of the students through high school. In 2018, I was able to meet with these students during our annual trip to Kenya and the transformation was truly remarkable. The students went from being quite shy and not very outspoken to be quite gregarious and talkative. All of these students are going on to study at a University or College in Kenya as the government provides financial assistance if you can get through high school.
In 2014 rigorous interviews were conducted on those that applied for high school scholarships. The interviews were conducted by the non-profit that I work with in Kenya called Hifadhi Africa. Some students walked as much as 25 miles one way to participate in the interviews. Preference was given to orphans, to students with just one parent, and to those with the greatest financial need. In addition, visitations to the applicant’s homes were made and interviews of the parents/siblings were conducted. The same procedures will be followed to determine which students are awarded scholarships.
Established Committee
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